AKRON, Ohio — Akron Mayor Shammas Malik and Acting Police Chief Brian Harding are speaking out after a city resident reported finding a racist flyer on their doorstep earlier this week.
According to officials, the paper featured stereotypical caricatures of Black people along with the declaration "Arm Yourselves WHITE People!!" It also contained contact information for a Ku Klux Klan group based in Kentucky.
3News later found a different flyer which featured additional disturbing images depicting Jews. They had been distributed in a neighborhood on the southwest side.
"When I look at this letter, firstly, it’s heart-wrenching that people feel this way in 2024," Tameika Boyd, who has lived in the "friendly" neighborhood for more than a decade, said. "I see it as scary, because you don't know who's doing it."
What's more concerning for Boyd is the flyers falling into the hands of children living in the neighborhood. There's an elementary school and a park less than a mile away from where residents found them.
"I want to see all children playing at the parks peacefully, being able to sit outside in their yards peacefully without having to worry about things like this," she added. "This is just absurd."
Malik and Harding released the following joint statement:
"We want to be extremely clear: Racism and hate have no place in our community, and we find the flyer to be disgusting and offensive. We're aware that these flyers have been placed in other Northeast Ohio communities and we are talking with other cities to gather further information. We encourage anyone with knowledge of these flyers or who has received one themselves to please contact the police department. This vile flyer does not represent the diverse and welcoming city that we call home, and we stand firmly against those who would deliver this type of material to our residents."
Anyone with information regarding this matter is asked to immediately call the Akron Police Department's detective bureau at (330) 375-2490. You can also reach out anonymously to Summit County Crime Stoppers at (330) 434-2677 or text TIPSCO with your tips to 274637.
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